


lemongrass and sleep

by regrettes



Series: emma serenades alyssa in the most awkward ways [4]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Emma's a softy, F/F, not sure yet - Freeform, shelby's a wingman, this is a fluff piece because i'm soft but i might right a companion to it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 12:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19209736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regrettes/pseuds/regrettes
Summary: Emma goes to another school event, and brings her guitar with. Alyssa catches sight of her and wants to listen





	lemongrass and sleep

_Am I allowed to look at her like that?_

 

Emma was sitting in the park with her guitar, ignoring everyone around her as she played. The student council had organized another event for everyone during finals, they captioned the post for the cook out with ‘Why stress OUT when you can cook OUT?’ and while it was incredibly corny, Emma couldn’t help but want to come. Finals were stressing her just as much as everyone else, and it gave her a chance to talk to Alyssa without having to feel students eyes on her again. It wasn’t her fault that she had a crush on Alyssa, how could she not? Alyssa was, at least in Emma’s eyes, the prettiest girl on the planet and she was always nice to Emma. Even if other people weren’t.

 

It definitely wasn’t just because of Alyssa being nice though, there was more to it but Emma just couldn’t put it into words. That was why she brought her guitar with her, intent on putting it into the only form of communication she confidently could use. Music was the way Emma came out of her shell, where the words didn’t stumble and fall as if they had a mind of their own. She’d been listening to a song by Dodie on repeat for days, trying to learn it because something in it just resonated with her. That led to her learning the chords and practicing out in the park, knowing that other people were around but generally they ignored her so she didn’t have to worry about judgement beyond what she already expected.

 

_Could it be wrong_

_When she’s just so nice to look at?_

 

Emma caught sight of Alyssa across the park, over by the picnic table that the food was on. She was talking to her mother, who was at almost every event that the school hosted, but she couldn’t help but let her stare linger a little bit, almost mesmerized, before she looked back down at her guitar, knowing that even if Alyssa couldn’t hear her, there was no one else that this song was dedicated to. Emma had had a crush on Alyssa since the sixth grade, watching her blow up peanut brittle during their science class. There was something so endearing about her little squeak of fear before she turned bright red and shy. There was no way that someone that chaotic yet shy wasn’t an incredible person, and the more that Emma got to know her, from brief conversations in classes and the ones they had the last few times she’d caught Emma singing in public, the more infatuated Emma grew.

 

What she didn’t see, was Alyssa catching sight of her playing and start making her way over, taking a zig zag approach to lose her mother’s eyesight. Emma was too intent on the intricate pattern of notes she was playing, trying to keep her mind busy so she didn’t think about kissing Alyssa, which had been a thought that plagued her for a few weeks at this point. When she finally noticed Alyssa approaching, it was because she was standing a few feet away, watching the girl as Kaylee and Shelby talked to her.

 

_And she smells like lemongrass and sleep_

_she tastes like apple juice and peach_

_oh, you would find her in a Polaroid picture_

_And she..._

_Means everything to me_

 

Emma met her eyes, trying to convey that it was for Alyssa, even if she hadn’t ever actually told the girl that she had feelings for her. It was pretty obvious from an outsider’s perspective however, Emma was absolutely terrible at hiding her feelings. She tended to be even clumsier without realizing it, tripping over her own feet and words whenever they’d be paired dup in class, or she’d see her in the hall. How could you not have a crush on Alyssa though, she was absolutely breathtaking to Emma, it didn’t compute.

 

_I’d never tell_

_No, I’d never say a word_

_And oh, it aches_

_But it feels oddly good to hurt_

 

Emma smiled as Alyssa moved a little closer, dragging Kaylee and Shelby with her. They chose to sit fairly close, now only about three feet or so away from her, clearly listening to Emma sing. It was weird amassing a group to actually listen to her, but she just felt a small wave of confidence wash over her, assuring her that this was a good idea. This wouldn’t end up like the school assembly where everyone laughed at her and she cried in the bathroom. This would have a better outcome. Maybe Alyssa had talked some sense into her friends and there wouldn’t be anymore jokes or backlash.She kept Alyssa’s eyes locked on her’s the entire time she played the middle acoustic part, falling back into the chorus as she gripped the guitar tighter to avoid showing how she was trembling.

 

_And I’ll be okay_

_Admiring from afar_

_‘Cause even when she’s next to me_

_we could not be more far apart_

_And she tastes like birthday cake and story time and fall_

_but to her,_

_I taste of nothing at all_

 

Emma made sure the words hit the way they should have, tears pricking in her eyes as she felt herself get to the part of the song where she always broke down. She knew that this was the biggest tell imaginable that she was in love with Alyssa, but she was tired of hiding it and even if people made fun of her, she wasn’t going to hide who she was. And even if nothing came of this today, there was no way she was going to let this moment go to waste. She knew that Alyssa couldn’t be gay, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in Emma’s mind that Alyssa was straight and just had a kind heart.

 

Her mom caught sight of her daughter however and made Emma drop her gaze as she stormed up, demanding to know what her daughter was doing near Emma. Emma almost stumbled over the chords but dropped her head to go back into the song, focusing on the notes as she finished the song. She was tempted to go into another song, to keep playing and just ignore the fight that was going on in front of her, but she just strummed more before looking around and making eye contact with Shelby, who gave her a soft, knowing smile. It wasn’t angry, or judging. It was a smile that showed some sort of solidarity Emma hadn’t expected. Next thing Emma knew, without Alyssa actually saying anything, she was gone, her mom dragging her away with Kaylee in tow. Before Shelby darted after them, trying to catch up, she made a motion for Emma to text her, which wasn’t something that usually happened but Emma didn’t let it go to waste. She needed to know what Shelby wanted, and what Shelby knew.

 

To her surprise, Shelby was very understanding, explaining that she wasn’t sure what was going through Alyssa’s head, but that she’d been talking about Emma a lot more than she used to. It made Emma’s heart flutter, and she asked why Shelby was being so nice, but it immediately made Shelby close up, saying she didn’t want to talk about herself, that she just wanted to help Emma. She even invited Emma to join her in a mall outing, saying that she, Kaylee, and Alyssa had been planning to go, but that she’d go with Emma ahead of time so she could prepare her for a group hang out. Emma agreed, but couldn’t help but feel a little mortified when Shelby called herself a wingman.

 

This was going to be a bumpy ride.


End file.
